The present invention relates to storage cabinets, and more particularly to a storage cabinet for holding a plurality of recorded audio-visual articles such as compact discs (CDs), video tapes, audio tapes, shoes, etc.
With the recent transition of loyalties from vinyl records to CDs, there has been an explosion of demand for handy storage units for these articles A common means for storing CDs has been to array them along an exposed shelf with a front bar adapted to uplift the front of the CDs and retain them on the shelf. Unfortunately, the shelves are either wall mounted or rest on table tops and are not designed to be easily moved. Other storage means have provided a simple box-like frame with shelves within which the CDs lie in. The exposed CDs are somewhat unsightly and the storage unit becomes quite bulky for large amounts of CDs. Other storage means have combined the simple frame with an exterior cabinet having front swinging doors. This type of cabinet requires a large space at the front of the cabinet for the doors to swing open.
Another common problem with prior CD storage units has been their relative inflexibility with regard to receiving both single and double CDs. Double CDs, having approximately twice the thickness of single CDs, will not fit in a storage cabinet sized only for single CDs. Some manufacturers have introduced shelving which provides one or two spaces for double CDs and the rest for single CDs. This is limiting, especially for opera and classical music aficionados who often purchase CD packages with two or more CDs included.
Due to the drawbacks of prior art storage cabinets, there is a need for an improved cabinet which is both lightweight and has a large storage capacity. Additionally, there is a need for an attractive CD storage cabinet which may be placed in a room alongside expensive stereo equipment and requires no more space when open than when closed. Moreover, there is a need for a lightweight, mobile storage cabinet with a large CD storage capacity which may be placed on the floor or on a desk or table. Finally, there is a need for a storage cabinet with all of the aforementioned features which can selectively store various sized CD boxes without any manual conversion.